Launched on 18 Dec 2013, this blog is about current affairs of both past and present, and about sharing your stories, photos, videos, and healthy outrage with opinions in the pursuit of positive change. To encourage it, I have posted parts of my journal of hope called Twenty-One Years that inspired this blog, along with articles, photos, and those of others. Bad news laced with poisonous and misleading stories is easily got somewhere else.
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Sunday, February 19, 2017

Case for radical reform of Garda now unequivocal

From the ‘heavy gang’ to Maurice McCabe, questions on accountability persist

The Garda is open to accusations that, particularly at senior level, some within still believe they enjoy an immunity unique in Irish life. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons

Forty years ago, on St Valentine’s Day 1977, this newspaper broke the story of a “heavy gang” within the Garda whose role was to “assist” suspects in making confessions. It was denied by the then Fine Gael/ Labour government.

The Garda authorities appeared to enjoy an immunity unique in Irish life. They understood why. Official Ireland saw them as the blue line holding off a green IRA threat to this State.

That “heavy gang” affair was one of many where gardaí were not sufficiently held to account in public for their behaviour. It has left them open to accusations that, particularly at senior level, some within still believe they enjoy such immunity.

Almost a year prior to those 1977 Irish Times revelations, in March 1976, armed men robbed a train near Sallins, Co Kildare. The IRA later admitted responsibility, twice.

The Irish Times headline that broke the ‘”heavy gang” story in 1997

Six men were charged with the robbery: four were tried, three convicted and two were released on appeal, leavingNicky Kelly. In 1984, Kelly was released from jail on “humanitarian grounds” by that Fine Gael/Labour coalition. In 1992 he was pardoned by then president Mary Robinson, as though he had never been charged in relation to the crime.

There was no evidence linking Kelly or his co-accused to the robbery, just confessions. Evidence that they were badly beaten while in custody was found in court to be “consistent with these allegations”. Gardaí strenuously denied responsibility for the beatings and argued that the defendants had beaten each other when placed in cells after being charged (against procedure).

Beaten himself up

One defendant, hospitalised after his confession, was never in a cell with anyone else. Gardaí claimed he had beaten himself up. The courts accepted this. It was never explained how these innocent men confessed to a crime the State later accepted they had no part in.

In December 1980, theSupreme Court released Dubliner Christy Lynch from prison. In September 1976, Lynch was convicted of the murder of Vera Cooney at Sandymount. He had confessed and served three years.

Nicky Kelly, convicted of 1976 Sallins train robbery, at a press conference in Dublin after being freed from prison on humanitarian grounds in 1984. Photograph: Tom Lawlor

The Supreme Court found he had been subject to “harassment and oppression” and that the murder victim was alive when he claimed to have killed her.

It was never explained how he came to confess to her murder.

In 1982, the DPP dropped charges against Amanda McShane in connection with a robbery in Taillight when it was discovered gardaí prepared a written confession in advance for her to sign.

Gardaí strenuously denied responsibility for the beatings and argued that the defendants had beaten each other

McShane’s solicitor found the preprepared confession on visiting her in custody. He copied it. Her interrogation continued when he left and she signed another preprepared statement admitting the crime. While there was no suggestion of violence against McShane, the preprepared confession was never explained either.

Similarly, in June 1983 Michael Ward confessed at Naas Garda station to 26 counts of burglary. His solicitors established that he was in jail when, according to his confession, he burgled houses in Naas. One burglary he admitted to never happened.

When these facts emerged, the DPP dropped the case. It was never explained why Michael Ward made a false confession.

Kerrry Babies

Then there were the Kerry Babies. In April 1984, two dead infants were found in Kerry. A baby boy with stab wounds was discovered at Cahersiveen. Two weeks later the body of another baby boy was found 30 miles away on the farm of Joanne Hayes at Abbeydorney

Gardaí suspected Hayes was mother of the Cahersiveen baby. She confessed to having stabbed it. Her family signed statements supporting her confession.

Charges were later dropped when DNA evidence found the blood group of the Cahersiveen baby was different to Hayes’s and the father of the baby found at Abbeydorney. Gardaí proposed that Hayes had twins with two different fathers with two different blood types.

A tribunal sat for 77 days, heard 109 witnesses, and found that gardaí were not responsible for Hayes’s false confession or the statements by her family. It was never explained who was responsible for Hayes’s false confession or the statements by her family.

Kerry Babies case: It was never explained who was responsible for Joanne Hayes’s false confession or the statements by her family. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh

The Morris tribunal in its reports, last in 2008, found that gardaí in Donegalhad invented an informer, made bombs, and claimed credit for finding them. They also attempted to frame Frank McBrearty jnr for murder. Innocent, he secured a €1.5 million settlement from the State.

No garda was jailed in connection with these events.

In 2006 the Barr tribunal reported on the fatal shooting of John Carthy by gardaí at Abbeyclara, Co Longford, in 2000. It found the shooting was “avoidable” and that “negligence of those in command led to the tragedy”.

When the Barr report was published on July 20th, 2006, Carthy’s sister Marie said it was regrettable the Garda still refused to accept responsibility for her brother’s death. A day later, the Garda issued a statement saying the force regretted loss of life in any circumstances.

Commissioner’s apology

On July 27th, 2006, then garda commissioner Noel Conroy wrote to the Carthy family apologising for the shooting dead of John Carthy. The letter was sent three days after then minister for justice Michael McDowell said he believed An Garda Siochana would issue an apology once senior members had fully considered the report of the Barr tribunal.

The Smithwick tribunal investigated allegations of collusion following the 1989 killing by the IRA of two senior RUC officers as they returned to Northern Tribunal Northern Tribunal after meeting gardaí. Its December 2013 report was “satisfied there was collusion in the murders” and that “evidence points to the fact that there was someone within the Garda station assisting the IRA”.

The report criticised two earlier Garda investigations into the murders as “inadequate”.